HU&W

I was pulled over this morning on the way to the gym with lights and siren. I pulled into a parking spot and the SP boxed me in. I wasn't sure of the reason since I follow all the speed limits/etc exactly. After 10 minutes of waiting, he got out of his car and came to my window. After I gave him the requested license, ID, and insurance he stood there looking at it for the longest time. "The reason I pulled you over sir is one of the lights in the front of your car is out." I responded that I didn't realize my headlights were on and asked which light was out. After a moment's reflection he answered, "it's one of your daytime running lights." I asked if daytime running lights were required. He thought for a moment, handed back my ID and documents and said, "no, I just wanted you to know, you're free to go."

If you don't want to spend the money, just wear some longjohns or a sweater underneath. The parka does very little for keeping warm anyway.

I will assume you're inbound as an ENJJPT student. On base is great for the commute, the community, and the VERY NICE houses. If you are forced to live off base, it all depends on your priorities. If you value the short commute and want a fairly nice house, Expressway Village is a subdivision right outside the gate (Missile Rd) that's closest to ENJJPT. You can find a nice house in that neighborhood for around $1200 per month (lease). If you want to live out in the country on a large piece of land with a 15 minute commute, Iowa Park and Burkburnett are nice places. If you want a really nice house, there are a few nice neighborhoods. Look at Tanglewood (North of Seymore Hwy), around Midwestern University, and down by the new Walmart on SW Pkwy. Places to avoid are City View, anywhere inside the triangle formed by 44, Kell, and Seymore, and the area just outside Sheppard's main gate south of housing.

Today is "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" and I haven't seen a message for that yet.

Sure, and you can even have the pilots stay on the cargo plane to remotely control the swarm...

EN 0908 (US) A-10 x2 F-15C F-15E F-16 x3 F-22 T-6 x2 UAV KC-135 C-17

I wonder how many you can link together in a chain...

2 on the personal credit card. Never had a problem with a late DTS voucher, but when I PCS'd on the paper voucher I showed up as late before I even arrived at the new base. Crazy new Citibank contract...

Hi Andrew, If you would like to make a career of flying for the Air Force, a few others have discussed it. You can get lots of good information here. From what I can read in your post, you're going down the right road. Your education office will be your best friend in helping you down the path. Here's the basics. 0. Be physically qualified in every way for pilot training. 1. Kick butt in your current job. 1a. Try to score an incentive ride in a fighter to see if you really want it. 1b. Awards and stuff will really help your resume for applying for a commission/pilot training. 2. Get flying hours. 3. Get a degree. Have a high GPA. Your major doesn't matter. 3a. Academy will give you the best odds of landing a pilot slot if you are physically capable. 3b. ROTC is a good option (possibly the easiest/most fun, but we all have our own opinions), especially with the new GI bill. 3c. Degree on AD and then OTS is always an option, but there's tons of competition with other priors. 4. Study your butt off for the AFOQT. 5. Ace the AFOQT. 6. Ace the TBAS. 7. Get a pilot slot. 8. Be the best at pilot training without hurting your friends. 9. Be lucky enough to have a fighter in your drop at graduation. 10. Pick the fighter. APPENDIX 1. Impress a few important people along the way to write you letters of recommendation. APPENDIX 2. Have lots of fun along the way. Keep an open mind at all times. APPENDIX 3. Do it fast before you get too old. Good luck...

Ben, I've been down the road you're on. It was long and bumpy, but I had a great time. Since I'm married with kids, I decided to stay in and use TA for my bachelors. I did OTS as soon as I could and ended up with a non-rated job. A few years later, I applied for a pilot slot and am currently at pilot training. If I was single, I probably would have taken the ROTC path. There are fewer roadblocks and going to a University would be a blast. The new GI bill sweetens it even more. My path worked for me though, and I had a great time along the way. Good Luck

Story time... We just PCS'd from overseas to our UPT base. A few days ago we picked up our car. Just got the car up to the base after the four day weekend for the first time. Today we entered the base and were greeted by the civilianized SFS. SFS guy (upon taking our ID's): I told you already that you need to get your plates changed. I can't keep letting you on base. (first time I've met the guy) Me: These are PCS shipping plates. I have a USAREUR issued registration that backs them for stateside driving until XXXX (date). SFS guy (getting the angry voice): I told you over two weeks ago! Me: Are you sure about that? SFS guy: Yes. You have only thirty days from the first time I tell you to get your plates changed. Me: You know, I just picked up this vehicle this weekend. SFS guy: Well when did you get to the base? Me: Does it matter? I couldn't have changed the plates before getting the vehicle. SFS guy: **says nothing, hands back ID and salutes** Me: **Takes back ID, returns salute, and drive away** I'm always amazed at how crazy people can get when they think they know something and feel they need to enforce it.

Next time you're at Pop's, just have them make you one of those leather flight suits. That way you can have the concealed holster built right in (STS)...

Easy flight DFW-FRA. It's a 777 direct and the seat headrests all have entertainment systems. The flight runs approx 9.5 hours. Once in FRA, use one of the many shuttle services to ride down to Ramstein. It's about an hour ride and will run about 40 euro per person. I use Rita's and they take credit cards.

Here's the current gouge on IFS for CSO. You will go. There are CSO candidates that attend who are airline pilots (ANG) in their day jobs. You will mirror the pilots on academics and the first few flights. After that, you will specialize in assisting an instructor pilot with flying the aircraft to specific locations at specific times, much like you would for a time sensitive airdrop, munitions drop, or whatever. Expect 3.5 weeks altogether for the CSO program.

One other place you may want to look is www.ramsteinyardsales.com. It's almost like a craigslist for Ramstein. If you click the "Autos & Boats" link on the left, you should get a good list. Warning, things on that site move fast. When we were leaving Ramstein, we listed almost 30 items. By the time we finished the process of listing them, 6 had been sold. Good luck...

What a perfect CoIN aircraft. It's simple, agile, and would be pretty resiliant. Sure gives a whole new meaning to 'crop dusting'... Found this after a quick google search on it... I love the wrench and screwdriver comment.

Confirmed

You can pick up a rental car (15 year old Mercedes/BMW with no A/C) for about $500 for a month at some of the places off base. Europcar can get you one for a little over $1000 for a month. Sixt (on base) is the most convenient and the most expensive. They can get you one starting around $1400 for a month. Keep in mind these prices are for the smallest/cheapest cars. Lots of people (me included) just ship a car when they leave the states and go to the lemon lot to buy a beater immediately upon arrival. A good used BMW/Mercedes will run you $4k-7K. They're nice for getting around, and the other drivers treat you better when you aren't in an obviously American car. They move quick during PCS season so you'll want to jump fast once you find one you like. Others will order a car from the many new car vendors. You can get a BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, or Mini custom built for a fraction of the stateside price, tax free. If you order far enough in advance of your move, it can be waiting for you. Your more pressing logistical problem is that you can't rent, buy, or even drive a car on PCS orders until you get your USAREUR license. It's not an easy test, but if you study you can have a temp within a week of arrival. There's a new system that is being rolled out to certain bases allowing you to test before you come. Gouge is below.

The computer screen thing actually works pretty good for the limited TV options there. Internet speed is VERY fast if you live in the right place. We ended up using a Mac Mini hooked to our plasma. Most TV shows are available on itunes, and its nice to surf the internet from your recliner. We also hooked up AFN and it was awful. On the big screen, its very fuzzy. Add this to the weird sound/video offset AFN seems to get and we rarely watched it. Lots of folks get Sky, but I didn't want to be locked into an expensive contract for their limited programming.